The Matta-Ravenel dustup

Maybe you saw Ohio State coach Thad Matta go ballistic on Evan Ravenel when Matta pulled him from the game at Northwestern last night. I didn't. Press row in Welsh-Ryan Arena is far from the team benches, my eyes usually are in my notebook or laptop during stoppages in play, and after the play involving Ravenel ended, I didn't see what happened next.

ESPN didn't miss Matta's eruption, though, and apparently it was so egregious that it got some of the network's nattering nabobs all lathered up this morning. So unless you DVR'd the game, as I did, you'll have to sit through this (you can mute it) to see the few seconds of good video near the end.

Matta was asked about the incident after the game, and after trying to sidestep it with a joke -- "I wanted to get his pizza ordered for the (flight) back" -- gave a forthright answer.

"He, I felt, had kind of lost his composure and he was arguing with an official," Matta said. "I’m watching him walk down the floor, and I was trying to get his attention, and he was somewhere else, so I tried to snap him back into it."

Boy, did he.

With Ohio State trying to maintain the upper hand in the game, having had a nine-point lead cut to four, Ravenel had a point-blank scoring chance roll around the rim and out, at least the third such miss by the Buckeyes to that point in the game. He obviously felt he had been fouled on the shot, and maybe fouled again from behind when he rebounded the ball, lost control of it and had it bounce on the baseline. Official Mike Kitts whistled the play dead and signaled possession to Northwestern.

Ravenel, who has a habit of complaining to officials about calls that don't go his way, angrily slammed the ball down on the baseline, said something and gave Kitts a hard glance over his shoulder as he began walking the other way. This was when Matta tried to get his attention, to no avail.

Why did Matta get so upset? Analyst Sean Farnham was on top of it, saying Ravenel was fortunate to not be charged with a technical foul. No doubt Matta felt the same. After watching the replay, make that three with me. Momentum already was moving Northwestern's way. A technical foul would have only heightened the wave. A team's only senior has to be more cognizant of that, especially at the point in the Big Ten race where the Buckeyes can not afford another loss.

Ravenel commented today on his Twitter account.

"I apologize for my actions last night," he wrote. "Let my emotions get the best of me. It wont happen again. I am moving on and am focused on tuesday."